I’m going to tell you a secret. These legendary AMA shredding events you hear about on the radio or read about online… well, they aren’t really about paper at all.
Oh sure, since 2007 we’ve helped more than 45,000 AMA members safely dispose of more than 910 tonnes of documents but trust me, that’s not what’s really going on.
It’s hard letting go. When someone pulls up to our drive-thru service with 30 years of bank statements, credit card bills, old love letters or all the paperwork from their painful divorce, you can almost smell their anxiety. All that stuff in their trunk can weigh them down like an anchor.
It’s liberating. I’ve had AMA members practically climb up on my shoulders to watch their files drop into the hungry steel jaws of that shredding truck. I’ve seen soccer moms dance jigs of joy and watched scowling dads crack a razor thin smile as they listen to the sound of their floppy disk collections turning back into bits. I’ve seen people laugh and I’ve seen people cry. Some of them are so moved they come back with coffees and doughnuts for all our AMA volunteers.
And I’ve seen those same folks come back the next year, with a single plastic bag of paper and a $20 or $50 donation to the food bank. They greet us like old friends. Gone is the desperation from their eyes. Their bellies are full of confidence.
It’s all about trust. At AMA, the business we are in is more than insurance, travel or driver education. For our extended family of nearly 960,000 members, AMA is also in the business of confidence. And ever since I saw it up close and personal at my first shredding event, I’ve been hooked. Now I see it everywhere, from that smile at the registries desk to the tow truck on the side of the highway.
We’re improving with age. So far this year, participation at AMA Shredding Events is up 44% and after just seven of our 16 events we’ve already surpassed last year’s record for food bank donations. We even had one happy member drop a cheque for $1,000 in the donation box. Yes, we’ve helped AMA members feel a little bit safer. But more importantly, we’ve raised more than $76,000 and 39,000 lbs of donations for local food banks.
So thank you.
Find out where to go and what to bring – visit our Shredding Events page for all the details.
And if you can’t make it to an event but your pantry is overflowing, find your local food bank and make a donation today.
